A group of men dressed as a mariachi band musicians has killed five people in a popular plaza in the centre of Mexico City.

The shootout at Mexico City’s bustling Plaza Garibaldi, renowned for its live music bars, left three men and two women dead, according to city officials.

Eight others, including one foreigner, were injured in the incident at the Plaza Garibaldi in the capital’s historic downtown, the city prosecutor’s office said in a statement.

Four of the dead victims were 22 to 46 years old, officials said, while the other is yet to be identified.

People in the plaza screamed and ran when they heard shots about 10pm on Friday (local time). Although, many reportedly seemed unfazed by the barrage of gunfire. The shooters fled the scene on motorbikes after the shootout which investigators believe to have involved around 60 shots.

The attorney’s office of Mexico City said the attack was related to disputes between La Union Tepito and Anti-Union Tepito, which are fighting to control the territory and its drug markets.

A video posted online shows a musician at a nearby restaurant  strumming the Mexican tune La Cucaracha on a harp without pausing as several shots rang out.

Escuchando la cucaracha y que empiezan los balazos!! Escuche cuantos disparos fueron #Garibaldi #balacera #balazos #lacucaracha #pulque #tenampa pic.twitter.com/d8lL4gsDbb

— Giovanni Emmanuel Uribe👽 (@topiltzingio) September 15, 2018

The video was taken by Giovanni Emmanuel Uribe, who was there with friends and family.

He told Reuters he quickly closed the restaurant’s curtains and blocked the door with tables before hiding in the bathroom with his companions until they heard police and ambulances arrive.

“We could hear more shots, and yells from people outside who were running in fear,” he said.

“I looked quickly at the crime scene and saw several bodies on the ground and I got out.”

Plaza Garibaldi is located in the historic quarter of Mexico City and borders the Tepito, one of the city’s most notorious neighbourhoods and home to La Union gang.

In July CNN reported that a 2018 Congressional Research Service report indicated there had been about 150,000 intentional homicides as a result of Mexico’s drug war since 2006.

Meanwhile, Mexican television service, telesur, reported that almost 7667 people were killed in Mexico in the first quarter of 2018 alone, a 20 per cent increase from the 6406 violent deaths reported in the same period of 2017.

-with AAP